Prince Harry’s biggest Australian fan would have supported his decision to choose love over royal responsibilities ‘with a tinge of sadness’, her daughter says.
War widow Daphne Dunne, who died last year aged 99, was regularly photographed embracing Prince Harry during his Australian visits and the pair had formed a special bond.
Of her meetings with Prince Harry, Mrs Dunne would say: ‘It’s just like spending some time with an old friend.’
She received a birthday card from Prince Harry and Meghan just days before she died.
Mrs Dunne’s daughter Michelle Haywood said her mother would have understood the Duke of Sussex withdrawing from frontline royal duties if he did so for his wife.
‘First and foremost, mum would have been very accepting of their decision as she always wanted Prince Harry to be happy and to share his life with the person he chose to love,’ Ms Haywood said.
‘Mum wanted him to live his life to the fullest which he felt he could do with Meghan.’
Prince Harry’s biggest Australian fan would have supported his decision to choose love over royal responsibilities ‘with a tinge of sadness’. War widow Daphne Dunne is pictured with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex the last time they met in Sydney in October 2018
Ms Dunne was photographed on three occasions meeting Prince Harry. Her first husband Albert Chowne was killed during a raid on the Japanese in New Guinea in 1945. He received the Victoria Cross for his bravery and she wore a replica of the medal which Prince Harry noticed
Of her meetings with Prince Harry, Mrs Dunne would say: ‘It’s just like spending some time with an old friend.’ She is pictured during their first meeting at the Sydney Opera House in 2015
Prince Harry and Meghan revealed on Thursday they intended to ‘step back as “senior” members of the Royal Family’ and ‘carve out a progressive new role’.
The couple would now balance their time between the UK and North America, ‘continuing to honour our duty to the Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages.’
The move has been portrayed by some as the prince declaring of war on the royal family.
Mrs Dunne met the prince three times in Sydney – the last time in 2018 when he was with his pregnant new bride.
She had been enthusiastic about the future for the newlyweds, saying Meghan was ‘just what the prince needs.’
Ms Haywood noted similarities between her mother and the prince’s early lives.
Mrs Dunne’s first husband was killed during World War II shortly after their marriage and Prince Harry’s mother Diana died in a car accident when he was only 12.
‘Both Daphne and Harry have lost the dearest people to them at very impressionable ages,’ Ms Haywood said.
‘So mum would have seen this move as one necessary for them to take in order to keep their relationship their number one priority.
Prince Harry and Meghan revealed on Thursday the couple would ‘step back as “senior” members of the Royal Family’ and ‘carve out a progressive new role’. The couple is pictured as they met the Canadian High Commissioner in London on January 7
Prince Harry meets war widow Daphne Dunne for the second time in Sydney in 2017. The pair developed a close bond. Mrs Dunne, a former servicewoman, died in April last year aged 99
When Harry met Daphne: Prince Harry meets war widow Daphne Dunne, then 98, outside Sydney Opera House in 2018. She received a personalised card from him for her 99th birthday
‘As no relationships are ever straight forward, the sense of duty as a royal comes into play too.’
Duty was important to Mrs Dunne. She served in the Australian Army Women’s Service during World War II and was involved in the War Widows’ Guild and Legacy for the rest of her long life.
‘I have no doubt she’d believe that Harry would continue to promote that sense of duty and pride even if meant approaching it in a new way,’ Ms Haywood said.
‘Mum knew how quickly things changed in this world and she always believed in change for the better, seeing the positives that can grow out of such changes even if they weren’t obvious at the time.
‘Mum always said that “there’s more than one way to do things” and she was not one to judge others.
‘She was very accepting of people’s decisions even if it wasn’t necessarily the decision she’d make if she were in their shoes.’
The war widow was pictured in her hospital bed just days before her death, reading the birthday card sent to her by Harry and Meghan
New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian hugs Daphne Dunne’s daughter Michelle Haywood (right) outside St Philip’s Anglican Church at Mrs Dunne’s funeral In April last year
‘However I do think mum would have put her relationship first, as to find true love and keep true love is the most valuable gift and the essence of life.’
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s announcement was apparently made in contravention of an order from his grandmother to wait until their plans could be considered by the royal family.
The Queen is reportedly ‘deeply upset’, while Prince Harry’s father Prince Charles and brother Prince William are said to be ‘incandescent with rage’.
While Prince Harry is only sixth in line to the throne his proposed new life will have complex implications around the couple’s finances and security arrangements.
Buckingham Palace said in a terse statement: ‘Discussions with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are at an early stage.’
‘We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work though.’
Ms Haywood said her mother might have done things differently if she were in Prince Harry’s position.
Mrs Dunne’s daughter Michelle Haywood said her mother would have understood the Duke of Sussex withdrawing from frontline royal duties if he did so for his wife. Mrs Dunne and the prince are pictured in Sydney in 2017
‘Mum would have probably expected the decision to be shared privately with all those in the families who were directly affected by it personally before it was publicly announced,’ she said.
‘But she would have seen it as their way of starting their new beginning. Mum often said “you cant put an old head on young shoulders” and “everyone has to learn by doing”.
‘Mum loved Prince Harry’s spontaneity and enthusiasm so she’d see this as a reflection of that quality coupled with his unified assertion of a new era for himself, Meghan and Archie.’
Ms Haywood said her mother would have faith in Prince Harry and Meghan ‘to do their best having chosen this path.’
‘She would have great faith that their united goals and actions would make a significant positive difference for the betterment of the underprivileged, the traumatised, the veterans, nature, the environment and the planet.
‘Daphne would see their move as fitting with the whole modern new-age royal family concept, coupled with a tinge of sadness for the potential loss of tradition but undoubtedly positive and progressive.’
‘And as Daphne liked to say, “you’ll never know till you try”.’
Mrs Dunne was warmly greeted by Prince Harry at their first meeting in 2015 when he noticed the replica Victoria’s Cross pinned to her chest
‘I would rather he had remained ordinary and alive’: The heartbreaking story behind war widow Daphne Dunne’s special bond with Prince Harry – and her terrible loss
Mrs Dunne’s first husband Albert Chowne was killed during WWII. The couple is pictured above on their wedding day
By Stephen Gibbs
Daphne Dunne captured the hearts of millions when she caught up with Prince Harry in Sydney in 2018 for another smooch – the third time the pair had met in three years.
But behind those charming images of the duke and the 98-year-old war widow was a tale of young love, extraordinary bravery and terrible loss.
Prince Harry first spotted a replica Victoria Cross pinned to Mrs Dunne’s chest at the Sydney Opera House after he completed a deployment with the Australian Defence Force in 2015.
‘He asked me about the Victoria Cross,’ Mrs Dunne said back then. ‘He said he recognised that and wanted to know all about it.’
The original VC, awarded to Mrs Dunne’s first husband Albert Chowne, is in the Australian War Memorial (AWM) in Canberra along with decorations including a Military Medal also awarded to Chowne in World War II.
Chowne was one of just 20 Australians to receive the Victoria Cross – the Commonwealth’s highest award for battlefield bravery – during World War II.
Prince Harry spent 10 years in the British Army, serving twice in Afghanistan. It is that shared military history and the young royal’s interest in war veterans that endeared him to Mrs Dunne.
‘He does a lot for everyone but he seems to dote on soldiers that have been wounded… that’s the reason,’ she said last year. ‘It doesn’t matter about me, he helps make them feel a bit better.’
Lieutenant Albert Chowne was just 24 when he was killed in action in New Guinea in 1945
Albert Chowne was born in Sydney on July 19, 1920 and attended Chatswood Boys Intermediate High School and later Naremburn Junior Technical School.
In 1935 he began working as a shirt cutter at David Jones where he would meet Daphne May Barton.
Chowne played tennis and rugby union and spent a brief stint in the 36th Militia Battalion before enlisting in the AIF on May 27, 1940.
He was initially assigned to the 2nd/13th Battalion as platoon and later company runner.
Albert Chowne was initially assigned to the 2nd/13th Battalion as platoon and later company runner
The unit arrived in the Middle East in November 1940 and Chowne served at Tobruk for eight months the following year. While there, Chowne was promoted to corporal.
After Tobruk his battalion performed garrison duties in Syria where Chowne was promoted to sergeant. He was wounded in the leg and hand at El Alamein and spent three weeks in hospital.
Chowne returned to Australia with the battalion in January 1943 before moving to New Guinea in July. He was awarded the Military Medal for twice crawling close to enemy positions to direct mortar fire.
‘Regarded as exceptionally cool by his comrades, Chowne combined fearlessness with a self-effacing manner,’ according to the AWM.
He was commissioned as a lieutenant in January 1944 and married Daphne, a corporal in the Australian Women’s Army Service, on March 15 that year at St Philip’s Anglican Church in Sydney.
After completing jungle warfare training course at Canungra in south-east Queensland, Chowne was posted to the 2nd/2nd Battalion in October 1944.
His unit was sent to New Guinea two months later. ‘Chowne brought a reputation for bravery and leadership to his new unit,’ the AWM website states.
‘In March 1945 he carried out a one-man patrol in daylight, at one stage entering an empty hut and rifling through the belongings of Japanese soldiers, one of whom he shot when he was discovered.
‘Some who knew him believed that Chowne was destined to either win the Victoria Cross or be killed in action. Sadly both happened.’
Ms Dunne’s first husband Albert Chowne was killed during a raid on the Japanese in Papua New Guinea on March 25, 1945 and received the Victoria Cross, alongside a number of other medals, for his bravery
The Governor-General presented Albert Chowne’s Victoria Cross at Admiralty House in 1947
Daphne Chowne was presented with Albert Chowne’s Military Medal in 1947 as his next of kin
On March 25 1945, the leading platoon in Chowne’s company ran into trouble attacking a Japanese position near Dagua. Chowne left cover and charged the enemy.
In the ensuing action he ascended a steep, narrow track and managed to silence two light machine guns with grenades as he fired his sub-machine gun from his hip.
Under intense fire and twice wounded in the chest, Chowne continued to charge a Japanese foxhole and took out two more enemy before he was killed. He was 24.
Chowne’s bravery enabled the attack to continue and, according to his VC citation, paved the way for the 6th Division’s advance on Wewak.
Daphne turned 24 four days after her husband was killed. A bunch of red roses Chowne sent to mark her birthday arrived just before news of his death.
‘I am proud for him but it doesn’t make up for everything,’ she told the Sydney Morning Herald in September 1945. ‘I would rather he had remained just ordinary and was alive. He was a wonderful man and a grand husband.
‘I have no plans for the future. It is all dead to me now.’
The Governor-General, Prince Henry, the Duke of Gloucester – the Queen’s uncle – presented Albert Chowne’s VC to Daphne at Admiralty House in 1947 and she subsequently presented it and his other medals to the AWM.
Daphne later married Corporal John Dunne of the 2nd/29th Battalion, who had been captured in Malaya in 1942 and was imprisoned at Changi.
Albert Chowne was buried in the Lae War Cemetery. A street in Canberra was named after him, as was a community hall in Willoughby on Sydney’s lower north shore.
Albert Chowne’s Victoria Cross was presented to Daphne by the Governor-gerneral, the Duke of Gloucester, at Admiralty House in 1947. Pictured left to right are the Duchess of Gloucester, Duke of Gloucester, Daphne, and Albert’s father Arthur Chowne